Memories
by Escachick357
Summary: Does anybody remember the story of how Belmeil found Nami and Nojiko all those years ago? Well, Nojiko also remembers. This is her story.


Memories

By: Escachick357

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece...yet

A/N: This is a story I came up while I was sitting in my American Government class. I was writing another chapter for "The Melody of the Seas" when I wondered, "What might Nojiko remember before and when she and Nami met Belmeil?" and this is what I came up with. This is written in Nojiko's POV, so I hope you like it.

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For as long as I can remember, I've always loved the smell and taste of oranges. The orchards on the farm never ceased to make me smile and feel safe from anything, even when the village was taken over for 8 years. Before then, I had something else to make me smile and keep me safe: the woman I called my mother.

Belmeil was always there for me and Nami when we were children, long before she was murdered. Nami and I both knew that she was not our true birth mother and that we weren't even related. Actually, both me and Nami didn't know who our true parents were. Belmeil knew what happened to them, but I guess she thought that both Nami and I were too young to understand what really happened. Thus came the excuses.

The first time the question of our birth parents came up, Nami was about 4 years old and I was 6. Nami had gotten into a little fight with some of the towns children after they made fun of her for not having any parents. The fight didn't last very long because a few moments later, Gen-san carried her back to the house by the collar of the hand-me-down dress that was once mine.

Belmeil gave her an evil glance as she was set onto the ground. Not too long after that, Nami asked the question of our parents. At first, Belmeil was silent, but answered, "I found you under a bridge." Nami's eyes widened, Gen-san turned his back at Belmeil, and I started to softly giggle. "Nojiko, too?" Nami asked innocently. Belmeil looked at me in annoyance, then shook her head, "I found your sister in a cabbage patch." By now, Gen-san was shaking and kept shaking after he left. I was sure he was trying to keep his laughter inside.

I knew Belmeil was only kidding about us being found under a bridge and in a cabbage patch so she wouldn't have to tell us about what really happened even though she knew that I knew the truth, but to honest, I scarcely remember anything about my life before Belmeil. I remembered a woman with my hair, my birth mother I guess, patting my head and smiling. I also remember a man, probably my father, laughing and picking up my small body and placing me onto his lap.

When I was 3 years old, pirates attacked my village. My parents shoved me into a closet to hide me from the pirates. It must have been a few hours later when I heard silence from outside the closet I was hiding in and decided to step out of it. My house had holes all through the door, walls, and roof. There weren't any pirates around and my mother and father were lying dead on the ground.

I decided to leave my destroyed house, even though I can't remember why I did. I most likely wanted to see if there was anybody in my town that was still alive. I had to be careful as I moved around. There were still pirates around, killing Marines, the townspeople, and destroying homes.

I heard a sharp cry come from one of the houses not too far away from mine. The door of the house was completely ripped off its hinges. I walked into the house without knocking on the outside door or calling inside. An orange-haired man and woman were on the ground dead and the sharp cry was coming from the next room.

Stepping around the bodies of the man and woman, I opened the door and stepped inside. Lying in a small crib was a little orange-haired baby, just barely a year old. The baby was crying uncontrollably, but somehow stopped when she saw my face leaning over the top of the crib. She didn't laugh, she didn't smile, she just stared at me as if she was trying to remember who I was...even though we'd never seen each other before.

Then, before I knew what I was doing, I reached into the crib and held the baby in my small arms. It was then that she started to giggle. She kept on giggling even after I brought her outside of her home. I couldn't understand how she could be so happy. The pirates were gone, but there was so much destruction in the village and injured and dying Marines were everywhere.

I walked for a little bit longer with the baby in my arms until a red-haired woman, an injured Marine, walked up to me. "Is this your little sister?" the woman asked. I shook my head, "I don't know who she is." The woman got down on her knees and placed a hand on the baby's cheek.

The baby turned her head towards the woman and giggled. The woman started to laugh while tears flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks, "She doesn't even notice the destruction." I laughed, too. The three of us laughed together for quite a while. When the woman and I stopped laughing, she introduced herself as Belmeil. Then she asked for my name. I looked at her and answered, "Nojiko."

Belmeil looked at the baby and asked if I knew her name. I told her I didn't. I think, afterwards, Belmeil asked if the baby and I would want to move with her to Cocoyashi after she found our parents dead, but I can't quite remember if she did. On our way to Cocoyashi, Belmeil gave the baby the name "Nami".

I don't remember anything else from then, but I was told that Nami and I got sick on the way to Cocoyashi. We were still sick with a high fever and weakness when we arrived in Cocoyashi. I was also told that that happened. Belmeil nursed Nami and me back to health.

I was also told that Gen-san wanted Belmeil to hand Nami and me over to the government when she made the decision to keep us because he thought that Belmeil wouldn't be able to care for 2 small children, but she refused. I think she thought that she would be able to take the responsibility of taking care of 2 little girls. All my other memories of those days all those years ago are gone: my parents' names, Nami's true name, and the name of the town I was born in.

After Arlong was killed, I decided to make myself a true citizen of Cocoyashi. Nami didn't. She told me that she liked sailing the wide and open sea with the other pirates, making maps, and visiting new places (God only knows how many items she's already stolen). I told her that I loved being here on the orange farm. I loved the smell of the oranges and besides, somebody has to watch over the farm.

The smell of the oranges from the trees still makes me smile and makes me feel safe. As I look down the rows of trees, I can sometimes see little ghostly figures of Nami and me at a young age and Belmeil, all picking oranges and laughing. Once I see those three, I realize that Belmeil never left me, that she was going to be around to protect me and make me feel safe for as long as she was able to.

I've seen her a few other times also, just standing behind me with a smile on her face. I've even felt her place a reassuring hand on my shoulder whenever I felt doubtful about something. Gen-san told me that she still wanted to stay at the farm to watch over the oranges and the daughter she cared for when she was still alive. Thanks, Belmeil.

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A/N: Okay, that's it. Sorry if you thought it sucked. I know this is not what might have happened, but this is what I actually think may have happened, so don't get mad if your ideas are different. R/R if ya want, but don't flame me, please.


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